"I think it's feasible."
Lu Haowen hesitated for only a moment and then responded directly. Not only that, no other ministers around him spoke out in opposition.
This time, it was Emperor Zhao who was a little confused for a moment - is this enough? This person is a Jinshi!
But apparently, this works.
In fact, Zhao Jiu was suspicious from the beginning, even a little petty and self-righteous... He had no idea that this matter was somewhat of a precedent.
A similar incident had occurred during the reign of Emperor Taishang Daojun of the Northern Expedition, and it was a prince who took the exam in person. Not only did he make it to the first level of the palace examination based on his real ability, but in the end it was said that he also won the top spot based on his real talent and knowledge... With this absurd incident as a basis, it would be difficult for the Song officials present to refute Emperor Zhao's current uprightness.
Even the 600 prospective Jinshi candidates had nothing to say, because according to the rules of this dynasty, there was no question of failing the exam once they entered the palace, as they were all Jinshi, with only rankings and grades. And since a Jiedushi was allowed to take the palace exam and then temporarily withdraw, it was impossible for Emperor Zhao to have the nerve to give the Grand Marshal Yue the title of number one.
At best, it's just a middle place, which is harmless to both the upper and lower levels, and it can be spread as a good story in the future... Who knows, some people may think that they have earned a rare friendship of being on the same list, and then meet privately in the future. I happen to be two years older than you, General Yue, so can I sit in the seat of honor at the banquet?
Of course, there are many different people. There are 600 people, plus dozens of ministers. Some of them are definitely dissatisfied. However, the government proposed it and the prime minister agreed. Their opinions could not be reflected for the time being, so there was no obstacle.
And Yue Fei could only stand out and make a response in confusion.
But at this moment, seeing Yue Fei stepping out under the cold gazes of all his colleagues except Zhang Rong, and then showing a little hesitation, Emperor Zhao suddenly felt something was wrong in his heart... because he realized that he had overlooked a major problem, that is, he did not communicate with Yue Fei in advance. What if Yue Pengju took the initiative to refuse in order not to arouse the jealousy of his colleagues?
When Emperor Zhao came to this, he had a quick wit, and then he pointed to the group of generals and said calmly, "Since Prime Minister Lu has promised, I will not be stingy... Not only Pengju, but also Liangchen, whoever you think has good writing skills can come up... Shaoyan (Li Yanxian's pen name), Zicai (Wang Yan), and Quduan, the three of you are also known for being both civil and military, do you want to come up and try?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the two rough men, Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Yanxian and Wang Yan, who had originally had the most unwavering expressions, were startled at first, but then they all hesitated... After all, although these two people could write a little and do some paperwork, they also knew that they were far from enough to write serious articles to compete for the status of Jinshi.
If I really agreed to it, I would be embarrassed once the article was made public.
As a result, the two of them almost shrank back together and did not step out at all.
But almost at the same time, Qu Duan, who was called, was unwilling to give up this opportunity. He immediately stepped out of the line and rushed to Yue Fei's side and responded excitedly: "I would like to ask the emperor to grant me a fair case. I am also willing to post my essay outside Donghua Gate after the palace examination. If the public opinion is that the essay is extremely bad, I am willing to accept the punishment!"
This retort made Yue Fei, who had originally shown an attitude of refusal, change his mind... He was certainly worried that getting this Jinshi degree would further lead to the collective alienation of his colleagues, but, as the saying goes, choose the lesser of two evils. If he backed down at this moment, he would directly create a great grudge with this "capable of both literature and martial arts" beside him.
You know, everyone in the palace who understands the situation knows that Qu Duan showed up this time not just to seek the title of Jinshi, he also hopes to use this opportunity to get rid of the embarrassing situation of being abandoned, and hopes to use this opportunity to tell the world that he, Qu Da, is still a figure in the eyes of the emperor.
This concerns his political life.
So, Yue Pengju also bowed and saluted, but did not say anything. This is what he meant by "I am the same".
Seeing this, Zhao Jiu laughed in public and turned to look at Lan Gui: "Since only two people are willing to do it, then add two cases, two sets of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, and let Pengju and Shi Yin (Qu Duan's pen name) come to take the exam. The rest of you can still watch the ceremony here."
Of course, Yue Fei and Qu Duan bowed together to express their gratitude, but compared to Yue Fei who was caught off guard until now, Qu Duan suddenly felt like crying at this moment... because it was not until this moment that he realized that the emperor had actually known his courtesy name all along, but had never used this address.
Yue Fei and Qu Duan each added a few cases, the brief storm passed quickly, and Zhao Jiu finally raised his hand and wrote down the test questions one by one.
Moreover, during the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system was changed again and again. Before the Jing Kang period when Emperor Huizong of Song was prosperous and mighty, the imperial examination system was simply abolished and replaced with a three-school system (county school, state school, and Imperial College). Those who passed the examination and became Imperial College students could be directly appointed as officials. Even this time of great honors and the bestowal of Jinshi were a mixture of the Emperor Zhao and Prime Minister Lu. So of course the rules of the palace examination were somewhat arbitrary.
However, no matter how things change, the essence remains the same. In the final analysis, the official Zhao Jiu still has to raise a few questions, and then the new scholars below have to write a serious political essay based on these questions.
So from the perspective of Zhao Jiu, the person who set the questions, in the current situation, the questions asked could not go beyond those few... In fact, Zhao Jiu did not try to be original. On the contrary, he followed the political tradition since Emperor Shenzong and only asked five questions. However, they were extremely concise and he did not write a long, fancy article.
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